Garner E. Shriver
Politician. Republican. Born: July 6, 1912, Towanda, Kansas. Died: March 1, 1998, Wichita, Kansas. Served in U.S. House of Representatives, 4th District: January 3, 1961, to January 3, 1977.
Born in Towanda on July 6, 1912, Garner Shriver was raised in Towanda and Wichita, where the family moved in 1925, and worked his way through the University of Wichita (later, Wichita State University) and Washburn Law School (LL.B., 1940 and J.D., 1970). For a couple years in the mid-1930s, Shriver worked for a drug company in Wichita and then taught at South Haven High School (1936-1937). He was admitted to the Wichita bar in February 1940, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and was a member of the state legislature (house and senate) from 1947-1951 and 1953-1960. Elected in 1960 as a Republican in what was then a traditionally Democratic district, Shriver served in the U.S. Congress from January 3, 1961, to January 3, 1977; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1976, being defeated in a bid for a ninth term by the Democratic candidate, Dan Glickman. The former congressman stayed on in Washington, working as minority staff director and legal counsel for the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (1977-1980) and as general counsel (1981-1982), before returning to Wichita to live and practice of law; he died in Wichita on Sunday, March 1, 1998.
Entry: Shriver, Garner E.
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: June 2011
Date Modified: March 2013
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